Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 607 Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its stake in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 0.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,815,137 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 607 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.98% of Exact Sciences worth $76,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXAS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,740,092 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,225,131,000 after acquiring an additional 180,341 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 74.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,025,313 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $899,528,000 after purchasing an additional 5,557,168 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in Exact Sciences by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,470,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $330,711,000 after purchasing an additional 508,764 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the second quarter worth about $163,896,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 175.3% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,258,235 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $155,954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438,010 shares during the period. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on EXAS. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research cut their price target on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Exact Sciences in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.14.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In related news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $65,030.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $958,090. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

EXAS stock opened at $70.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.84. The stock has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of -53.10 and a beta of 1.26. Exact Sciences Co. has a one year low of $40.62 and a one year high of $79.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical research company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.28. The company had revenue of $699.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $690.02 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 6.70% and a negative return on equity of 4.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.45) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Exact Sciences Co. will post -0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exact Sciences Company Profile

Exact Sciences Corporation provides cancer screening and diagnostic test products in the United States and internationally. The company offers Cologuard, a non-invasive stool-based DNA screening test to detect DNA and hemoglobin biomarkers associated with colorectal cancer and pre-cancer. It also provides Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score Test; Oncotype DX Breast DCIS Score Test; Oncotype DX Colon Recurrence Score Test; OncoExTra Test for tumor profiling for patients with advanced, metastatic, refractory, relapsed, or recurrent cancer; and Covid-19 testing services.